Wood has been the ultimate choice in construction for a large portion of human history, however, steel frame houses are now considered to be better than traditional wood frame houses. With that said, the prefabricated house industry has been using steel for decades and in some places, it has taken the prefab construction market by a storm since its beginning.
So is a steel frame prefab house better than a wood frame one? Yes, steel is better than wood for house framing. Steel is more flexible for design, stronger than wood, eco-friendly, easier to work with, less susceptible to water damages, fireproof, earthquake-proof, and recyclable, it is just better where it matters.
With all the advantages steel has over wood for prefab house framing it is hard to understand why in many places wood is still being used as the top material for house framing.
There are, however, some disadvantages just like any other material, but most of them could be bridged by modern technology and the use of other materials in combination with the steel frame.
So as we explored in previous posts prefab homes are highly durable, and sustainable especially if built with steel frames, which allows for way less maintenance during its lifetime and cost efficiency in the long term.
With all that said let’s understand why you should be considering a steel frame over a wood frame for your newly prefab house.
Why Steel Frame Is Better Than Wood Frame For Prefab Homes?
Steel Isn’t A New Material
Steel is known to be used for at least 4000 years, most of this time to be honest in a primitive form and not necessarily useful for building purposes, however, since the beginning of the industrial revolution around 1850 it became a material of choice for many construction-related uses.
But the great improvements of steel came around the 1950s which by then have already been used in several highrise buildings around the world and other manmade structures.
These days steel is considered to be a very reliable material with a fairly cheap production process and great in regards to recycling.
Thanks to that steel now days is in massive use in the construction field all around the world, whether it is used for reinforcing concrete or as support beams for walls and ceilings, it is part of the way we experience our world.
Steel Is More Durable Than Wood
It is true that wooden prefab homes from the beginning of the 20th century are still standing and are livable. But do not mistake to think that those homes are standing without a fair share of maintenance, it takes lots of time, money, and smart decision making for those homes to survive for that long. They are durable but only to the amount of effort that has been put into maintaining them.
Steel, however, is much more durable and will sustain far worst experiences before requiring any intervention than wood would.
To start with steel is by far less likely to be damaged by water, though it could rust, most steel used these days in prefab homes construction goes through antirust treatment and is protected for years.
Additionally, steel is fireproof, unlike wood, if the house gets burned there is less material to be burned with it and more time for your family to be safely evacuated out of it.
Earthquakes are not such a threat to a steel frame house as steel is more “flexible” during such an event. Thus, worth it if you live in an area known for earthquakes.
Besides that, steel can’t be eaten by termites or be inhibited by other pests that could degrade its integrity over time. There are places that are known for wood pests problems, as such before making the decision regarding wood vs steel frame chack if the area is known for those types of problems.
Lastly, steel does not degrade over time and keeps its properties so your house is likely to be standing longer than you’ll ever need it to.
Steel’s durability is by any means better than wood’s, and as history has shown us, wooden homes are standing for many years, so if that is the case then steel homes will undoubtedly last forever.
Replacing Prefab Production From Wood To Steel Can Help Fight Global Warming
Global warming is a threat to us all and many small to large actions are required if we wish to able to mitigate the damages of this negative process on our environment.
It is known that plants and especially trees are a great way of trapping CO2 out of the atmosphere, however, if the rate at which we are using wood as a building material will keep growing we might find that all of our forests are gone. Thus, building a prefab house from wood is not a sustainable way of living, while moving to steel might be a better option for us all.
Steel is a very sturdy material so once installed there isn’t much work to be done with it, but, when a prefab steel house is to be demolished the steel could easily be sorted out of the debris and recycled into its next project.
Globally steel waste is being recycled at a rate of around 40%, which makes steel one of the most recycled materials in the world. In the US alone steel is being recycled at a rate of 83%. Compared to wood this is crazy, building prefab homes using steel is by far better for the environment and sustainable for the earth.
Eco-friendly homes are what we all should aspire towards if we wish to save some of this marvelous world so next generations could enjoy from it as well.
Building A Steel Frame Is Cost-Effective
It is not a secret that the world runs on money and if a new product or system is cheaper to use and has at least the same quality if not better then it will most likely be adopted over the old one.
This is what’s going on with steel frame prefab homes which offer greater convenience with less waste, faster and easier construction, and less maintenance over time. All those factors are translated into costs of building and costs of long term maintenance, which result in lower to even construction costs and lower long term maintenance costs.
The steel is being ordered prefabricated by demand during the construction phase, this helps prevent waste and landfill costs for the manufacturers of the prefab homes. Moreover, the preordered prefabricated steel beams and other parts are all ready to use for the build, they do not require any fitting, or cutting which speeds up the process. And as we all know the phrase – Time Equals Money.
On the long-term side of things, steel is less susceptible to degradation, pests, water, fire, earthquakes, etc., and will require less maintenance during its life. This cost directly impacts the owner of the prefab house and saves lots of money throughout their life.
However, there are some treatments that steel must go through in order to be highly durable, but if done correctly steel has a very low life cycle cost.
Steel Makes Prefab Homes Built Even Faster
As mentioned above steel beams and other frame-related parts will arrive at the factory prefabricated, sometimes coated and ready for installation, in appose to wood that would require fitting, coating, and other activities.
Wood will arrive at the factory in standard dimensions, for some occasions, this might be ok but for a prefab house building it less idle as there will be lots of cutting and fitting so that the frame could be completed. This takes more time which if done with steel can be saved.
The main advantage with prefabricated homes is that they are built and ready to be used in a very short time period, it is true that with wood construction the times are fast, however, steel makes it even faster with fewer building costs in most cases.
Overall, the importance of speed in the prefab construction homes market is sometimes what makes the difference between two manufacturers, and steel frame can definitely help reduce that precious time.
Steel Saves A Lot Of Weight
As steel is much stronger than wood the ability to design it with less material yet still get the right strength out of each part can save a lot of weight from the house. Steel can be designed as I-beams where there is much less material with enough physical properties that allow it to be safe for construction purposes.
Wood, on the other hand, would need the cross-section to be much beefier in order to get the same strength achieved by the lighter steel cross-section, meaning more material, which inevitably makes each beam much heavier. The overall weight of the prefab home will be higher if choosing a wooden frame.
The advantages of utilizing steel technology in the prefab home industry are that fewer materials need to be shipped around, lighter cranes and trucks can be used, the concrete substructure is lighter, and the factory work is way easier, all thanks to steel which helps lose some weight.
Losing weight building a prefab house with a steel frame is advantageous not only by making the process lighter but saves money doing so. All the advantages above eventually translate to cost savings for the prefab construction process, on-site assembly stage, and overall costs both for the manufacturers and the homeowners.
Steel Allows Architects For A Larger Degree Of Freedom
Since steel has been introduced to the construction market, homes and other commercial buildings have become larger, stronger, and more unique in their designs.
The fact that steel is stronger than wood yet lighter makes designing features that were impossible while working with wood become a reality thanks to steel and its alloys.
Bigger openings, such as windows, doors, garages, skylight windows, and others are possible on the modern prefab homes thanks to working with steel, and thanks to the great many advancements steel making technology have made.
Additionally, working with steel opens the doors to unique line choices in architecture, as steel could be cast in any shape desirable designers and architects can try almost anything, as long as it provides the right physical properties required for the building integrity.
The modern prefab home manufacturers are pushing the limits of design and quality these days by using more steel frames and allowing for greater freedom and choice in design and customization.
Construction Wood Is Getting Worst
As we are getting more cautious about our old-growth forests, we understand that using them as wood products is not in our best interest. As this notion now is part of the way most of the world sees the wood industry, the protection of these strong quality “banks” of construction wood is getting stronger, and by that the supply is getting shorter.
The industry in many places is now based on new grown tree fields which will never be as strong or as high quality as the older trees, and as a result, will never be able to compete with steel.
Over time wood will become less desirable for prefab home frames as it is just not worth the investment as the quality could not match that of the steel frame homes.
Even the Food And Agriculture Organization of the United Nations alerts that:
“The changing quality characteristics of the wood supply have a profound impact on wood processing and utilization throughout the value recovery chain. They will eventually impact on the forest products industry and affect customer satisfaction. They also raise new issues for forest management to deal with”
This is why you should consider a steel frame more than anything else, construction wood quality is not what it used to be. Thus, choose what’s best for your prefab home especially if you wish it to be of higher quality.
Is Steel Frame House Better Than Wood Frame House
As we have explored all the advantages of a prefab house steel frame is clear that using steel for that purpose is by far better than using wood.
Steel frames are stronger, lighter, cost effective, eco-friendly, highly durable, easy to work with, and keeps its quality better than wood. So with all that we now know choosing to go with a steel frame instead of a wood frame prefab home will be much more beneficial.
One thing worth mentioning is that though the frame of the prefab house is made out of steel it does not mean that the rest of the house should be steel as well. For the envelope both interior and exterior, it is still possible to use wood, fiber-cement, aluminum, or any other available material.
The main advantage of steel is being used as the skeleton of the prefab house’s frame, apart from that I can honestly say that the rest of the prefab house could be built from many other different great materials.
Lastly, as steel frames are mostly empty gaps unlike wood prefab homes, insulation should be a top priority. I will write about insulation in a different post soon and would love to share it with you for your benefit and a greater understanding of this topic.
To sum it all up consider using steel for your new prefab home and save time, money, and future worry, as steel frame prefab homes are great and will serve the residence for years to come with great joy.
Until next time
My Alternative House